Late last year I wrote a post about the inaugural Canberra Readers' Festival. One of the speakers was indigenous Australian author, academic and activist, Anita Heiss. I wrote then that I bought one of her books. It was her fourth (I think) chick lit novel, Paris dreaming. This might surprise regular readers here, as chick … Continue reading Anita Heiss, Paris dreaming (Review)
Review
Thea Astley, The monstrous accent on youth (Review)
I was going to start this post with that well-known quote by Sophocles - or was it Plato - complaining about the young people of today, but a little bit of research turned up the fact that that quote is somewhat spurious. It was probably inspired by Plato's Republic in which he presents a dialogue … Continue reading Thea Astley, The monstrous accent on youth (Review)
David Foster Wallace, Twenty-four word notes (Review)
David Foster Wallace got me in with the first few words of his essay "Twenty-four word notes". They are: Utilize A noxious puff word. Oh yes! "Utilise" (as we down under spell it) is one of my pet peeves. Why use "utilise" when "use" is a perfectly good word? I regularly mutter. Wallace is a … Continue reading David Foster Wallace, Twenty-four word notes (Review)
Valeria Luiselli, Faces in the crowd (Review)
Mexican writer Valeria Luiselli's Faces in the crowd was, as regular readers here might remember, one of my two Bah Humbook virtual gifts from Stu of Winston's Dad. I ordered it on Christmas Day for my Kindle - after all, it was a Christmas present - and have now read it. Wow, what a read, … Continue reading Valeria Luiselli, Faces in the crowd (Review)
David Foster Wallace, Federer as religious experience (Review)
David Foster Wallace's essay "Federer as religious experience" is several years old now. I did plan to read it a couple of years ago when I first came across it but, somehow, I didn't. However, this week, Lisa at ANZLitLovers reviewed a David Foster Wallace essay collection which includes this essay*. She decided not to … Continue reading David Foster Wallace, Federer as religious experience (Review)
Frank Moorhouse, Cold light (Review)
As I reached around the two-thirds point in Frank Moorhouse's Cold light, the third tome in his Edith trilogy, I wanted to cry out "Enough already"! It's not that I wasn't enjoying (most of) it, and it's not that it's a bad book, but it does go on - and on. It's a book, I … Continue reading Frank Moorhouse, Cold light (Review)
Suzanne Edgar, The love procession (Review)
Amongst the madness of last year's silly season was a little oasis, namely the launch of local poet Suzanne Edgar's latest collection, The love procession. It was an oasis not only because the launch was for a book of poetry, but also because it took place in the peace of a garden. Poetry and gardens … Continue reading Suzanne Edgar, The love procession (Review)
Barbara Baynton, A dreamer (Review)
Finally, having reviewed three stories in Barbara Baynton's collection Bush studies, I start at the beginning with the story "A dreamer". This story is a little different to the three* I've reviewed to date, primarily because men do not play a significant role in the action or denouement of the plot. The plot is a … Continue reading Barbara Baynton, A dreamer (Review)
Rod Howard, A forger’s tale: The extraordinary story of Henry Savery, Australia’s first novelist (Review)
"Name Australia's first published novelist" is, I think, a question that would trick most Australians at a trivia night. Rod Howard, who wrote the biography, A forger's tale, about this writer would agree, as would the writer in the West Australian in 1950 to whom I referred a couple of months ago. Henry Savery, in … Continue reading Rod Howard, A forger’s tale: The extraordinary story of Henry Savery, Australia’s first novelist (Review)
Barbara Baynton, Scrammy ‘and (Review)
Back in November, Trevor at Mookse and the Gripes, decided that rather than write a single review of Alice Munro's latest collection of short stories, Dear life, he would, over a period of time, read and review the individual stories. Now, there's something to be said for reviewing a collection of short stories as a … Continue reading Barbara Baynton, Scrammy ‘and (Review)
